By now you probably already have your favorite banana bread recipe bookmarked and memorized. You most likely won't need another banana recipe but let's be real, what's one more? Instead of making classic banana bread, I did what I always do and added a little twist. Add a little Asian influence and voila! You have a black sesame banana cake. It's different but this dessert is just as delicious as the classic version.

Black Sesame Banana Cake

1 hr, 20 Total Time

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Ingredients

Black sesame paste
• ½ cup black sesame seeds, toasted
• ½ cup honey
Black sesame banana cake
• ½ cup butter, softened
• ¾ cup brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 4 bananas, mashed
• ¼ cup Greek yogurt
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• ½ tsp salt
• 1 tsp baking powder
• ¾ tsp baking soda
• 3 tbsp black sesame seeds, toasted
• 1 banana, peeled, sliced in half lengthwise

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 9-inch square baking dish with cooking spray.
2. Process ½ cup black sesame seeds in a food processor until finely ground. Add ½ cup honey and process until the mixture becomes a paste.
3. Cream together ½ cup softened butter with ¾ cup brown sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer for 3-4 minutes or until fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add 4 mashed bananas, ¼ cup yogurt, and 1 tsp vanilla, the black sesame paste, and mix until combined.
4. Add the dry ingredients including 2 cups all-purpose flour, ½ tsp salt, 1 tsp baking powder, ¾ tsp baking soda, 3 tbsp sesame seeds and stir just until combined. Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan.
5. Cut the banana in half lengthwise and arrange on top of the cake, gently pressing it in. Bake the black sesame banana bread for 45 minutes - 1 hour or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

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**Helpful tips and common mistakes

If you're like me, you probably have a couple of spotty bananas sitting on your counter that are yearning to be eaten. The best solution? To bake them of course! (Unless you're making banana egg rolls which is another fantastic solution.) This black sesame banana cake is just as easy to make as the classic version with one extra step, making the black sesame paste.

To make the black sesame paste, you'll need the help of a food processor. Process the black sesame seeds until finely ground. Add honey for a touch of sweetness and continue to process the mixture until it becomes a paste. You can also find black sesame paste in many Asian markets.

Now it's time to actually make the snacking cake. Cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3-4 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time until well incorporated followed by the remaining wet ingredients including the mashed bananas, yogurt, vanilla, and black sesame paste.

Now add the dry ingredients, stirring just until combined. You don't want to overmix the batter or the gluten will develop and the cake can become tough. Pour the batter into a baking pan and arrange a banana split in half for a pretty topping. Bake the black sesame banana bread until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

As tempting as it is to eat the cake right away, let it cool before digging in. It's still cooking inside so we want it to finish doing its thing before grabbing a fork.

Boy oh boy was it hard to stop eating this black sesame banana cake! The black sesame paste adds just a hint of nuttiness to the bread, adding a new flavor element to this bread. Plus, it just looks so cool with the hints of black, don't you think?

Looking for someone to come to your house and prepare these dishes for you? It is possible! If you are in Los Angeles and looking for a private chef, please feel free to contact me. For more information, visit Private Kitchen Los Angeles.